However, I have not had the experience of growing up black in American society, nor had to deal with the day-to-day racism that is still way too prevalent. As a privileged member of society, it's not my place or within my ability to comment on someone else's pain.
Click! That would be the sound of the light going on.
I hadn't realized until now just who you were speaking of specifically. I had just gone on the assumption that people of various backgrounds will have discomfort with the word, much like the fact than many non-Jews, for example, are appalled at the names used for them.
However, given your clarification, neither would I presume to comment on the pain of a person who's lived it. Without any intention of being indelicate, I would add that these folks are not compelled to read an unexpurgated version any more than a native American who is repelled by "Injun Joe".
It would be interesting to know who holds the opposite view, and say: "Hey! Don't sweep this under the rug. We don't want anyone to forget that, as ugly as it is, it's part of our history in North America."
In the end, I think we can agree that it, or other forms of bigotry, will never end until we get children talking about it in the absence of bigoted adults.
In American society, we are so terrified of anything even remotely controversial that we only just barely stop short of requiring all teachers to be celibate virgins. God help any public school teacher who is, or is rumored to be, gay or otherwise in any sort of non-traditional relationship at all, or who has ever in the past, even before becoming a teacher, been involved in any sort of non-traditional relationship.
One can only wonder how many new
Jane Elliotts are not allowed to blossom when school boards are themselves so bigoted.
ryck
